![This coming holiday season, I decided to start advertising my baked goods business as well as catering services online here on this new blog SCRUMPTIOUS by Goddess of Scrumptiousness [+follow] .
I will post my contact information (for orders and catering) and list of products here. I am still working on this page (as well as a Facebook page) but I will tremendously appreciate the support from any interested future clients or anyone who is kind enough to follow this page.
Thank you very much! :)
- jeannie](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mb5zboqJ3e1qgtvlpo1_r4_1280.jpg)
This coming holiday season, I decided to start advertising my baked goods business as well as catering services online here on this new blog SCRUMPTIOUS by Goddess of Scrumptiousness [+follow] .
I will post my contact information (for orders and catering) and list of products here. I am still working on this page (as well as a Facebook page) but I will tremendously appreciate the support from any interested future clients or anyone who is kind enough to follow this page.
Thank you very much! :)
- jeannie
Source: goddessofscrumptiousness
Maple and Almond Nut Tarts
Although this is my most requested pastry product by my customers, and that I always struggle with a virtue called patience, I sometimes loathe making this tart… actually it’s the pressing and moulding the sweet dough (tart shell) into mini muffin pans that always tests my patience and makes me go nutty with impatience.
But to those who are more blessed with this particular virtue, here is the recipe.
Ingredients:
Sweet Dough (tart shell)
2 1/3 cups unsifted all-purpose flour (*spooned gently into measuring cup, do not tap or shake cup when measuring)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 whole egg
- In a food processor, pulse all sweet dough ingredients together until the dough comes together.
- Wrap dough in cling film, and chill for 30 minutes inside the fridge.
Maple and Almond Filling
2 large eggs
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons melted butter
4 cups coarsely chopped almonds (or you can also use slivered almonds)
- Mix all filling ingredients together and set the mixture aside.
Assembly:
- Preheat oven at 350’F
- You will need 4 mini (12-mould) muffin pans.
- Take the dough out of the fridge and scoop 1 tablespoon of dough into each mini muffin mould. Press dough and create a cylindrical indentation to hold the filling.
- Spoon filling in each prepared unbaked shells.
- Bake tarts for 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown.
- Lift tarts from moulds 5 minutes after taking the pans out of the oven. Cool tarts on wire racks.
Makes 48 mini tarts
Source: goddessofscrumptiousness
![Sweet Thoughts
(Black Forest Cupcakes, Maple-Butterscotch Fudge, Spiced Carrot Birthday Cake)
I always believe that if you give anybody something in the form of sustenance, something edible and that they can genuinely enjoy by themselves or even share with their loved ones, relationships of any kind becomes more comfortable and bonding. I mean food is always in the centre of any gathering or occasion, and so in my personal opinion, a gift of food is the most sensible thing one can confidently give without any apprehension of it being returned or made into a dust collector the day after.
I do not need to write about how brilliant a box of Cupcakes is to give to anyone… a significant number of the world’s population with sweet tooth loves cake, it is individually portioned, therefore, instantly shareable, and cupcakes are always neither underdressed nor overdressed in any event or celebration.
Confections , specially those homemade and handmade are the perfect gifts for those people who you consider close and dear to you. It is something about the patience and thoughtfulness that were part of the process in making candy that suggests it should definitely be given only to those who also give kindness, patience and thoughtfulness in your life.
Old school and homemade Birthday Cake…
adlib: [Although September (ahem, the 12th) is my birthday month and I did made this homey birthday cake, for the record, I don’t think I have the guts to bake and give myself a birthday cake. If I were to wish for something to stick a wishing candle into, it will either be a 20-inch pizza (with all my favourite toppings plus extra extra cheese) or a jelly donut pyramid! Mmmmm…]
Call me old fashioned, even call me old, but I still believe that buttercream frosted birthday cake with retro buttercream flowers over retro buttercream vines and leaves is still the proper birthday cake… period!
And this old school (Spiced Carrot Cake) birthday cake is for my grandmother for her to stick her birthday candle tomorrow. :)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9ms35jWUJ1qgtvlpo1_r2_1280.jpg)
Sweet Thoughts
(Black Forest Cupcakes, Maple-Butterscotch Fudge, Spiced Carrot Birthday Cake)
I always believe that if you give anybody something in the form of sustenance, something edible and that they can genuinely enjoy by themselves or even share with their loved ones, relationships of any kind becomes more comfortable and bonding. I mean food is always in the centre of any gathering or occasion, and so in my personal opinion, a gift of food is the most sensible thing one can confidently give without any apprehension of it being returned or made into a dust collector the day after.
I do not need to write about how brilliant a box of Cupcakes is to give to anyone… a significant number of the world’s population with sweet tooth loves cake, it is individually portioned, therefore, instantly shareable, and cupcakes are always neither underdressed nor overdressed in any event or celebration.
Confections , specially those homemade and handmade are the perfect gifts for those people who you consider close and dear to you. It is something about the patience and thoughtfulness that were part of the process in making candy that suggests it should definitely be given only to those who also give kindness, patience and thoughtfulness in your life.
Old school and homemade Birthday Cake…
adlib: [Although September (ahem, the 12th) is my birthday month and I did made this homey birthday cake, for the record, I don’t think I have the guts to bake and give myself a birthday cake. If I were to wish for something to stick a wishing candle into, it will either be a 20-inch pizza (with all my favourite toppings plus extra extra cheese) or a jelly donut pyramid! Mmmmm…]
Call me old fashioned, even call me old, but I still believe that buttercream frosted birthday cake with retro buttercream flowers over retro buttercream vines and leaves is still the proper birthday cake… period!
And this old school (Spiced Carrot Cake) birthday cake is for my grandmother for her to stick her birthday candle tomorrow. :)
Source: goddessofscrumptiousness
![Peanut Butter - Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter (can be creamy or chunky)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 375’F. Beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add the sugars, baking powder and baking soda. Beat until combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour with a spatula or wooden spoon. Stir in rolled oats and chocolate pieces.
2. Scoop cookie dough with a medium size ice cream scooper. Space the cookies 2 inches apart onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven about 10-12 mins. or until edges are lightly browned. Cool cookies on wire racks.
Makes about 2 dozens.
The Purpose of Cookies… according to a very wise Cookie Jar
1. Is to give you an excuse to put most of your favourite things to eat all in one mixing bowl and never be persecuted at all.
Just try showing someone how you can spoon away and finish a jar of peanut butter all by yourself… don’t you just look so endearing to them?
2. Is to teach you to be fair and balance. You shall not show any favouritism on any of your cookie dough scoops… And make sure each scoop has the same number of chocolate chips as the previous one.
3. Is to let you forget your old cheap tricks. And make you realize that cookies are much more favourable bribe (than soap or beanie babies) to get you out of those sticky situations with your mailman, teacher and your neighbour’s Pittbull.
4. Is to make you really like yourself more… Because cookies reciprocate the same feelings for you too…
You : YOU LIKE ME!…. YOU REALLY LIKE ME!
Cookie : Back at you, munchy cheeks! [smiley face]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7evopC9Av1qgtvlpo1_r4_1280.jpg)
Peanut Butter - Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter (can be creamy or chunky)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 375’F. Beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add the sugars, baking powder and baking soda. Beat until combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour with a spatula or wooden spoon. Stir in rolled oats and chocolate pieces.
2. Scoop cookie dough with a medium size ice cream scooper. Space the cookies 2 inches apart onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven about 10-12 mins. or until edges are lightly browned. Cool cookies on wire racks.
Makes about 2 dozens.
The Purpose of Cookies… according to a very wise Cookie Jar
1. Is to give you an excuse to put most of your favourite things to eat all in one mixing bowl and never be persecuted at all.
Just try showing someone how you can spoon away and finish a jar of peanut butter all by yourself… don’t you just look so endearing to them?
2. Is to teach you to be fair and balance. You shall not show any favouritism on any of your cookie dough scoops… And make sure each scoop has the same number of chocolate chips as the previous one.
3. Is to let you forget your old cheap tricks. And make you realize that cookies are much more favourable bribe (than soap or beanie babies) to get you out of those sticky situations with your mailman, teacher and your neighbour’s Pittbull.
4. Is to make you really like yourself more… Because cookies reciprocate the same feelings for you too…
You : YOU LIKE ME!…. YOU REALLY LIKE ME!
Cookie : Back at you, munchy cheeks! [smiley face]
Source: goddessofscrumptiousness
![Dark Chocolate Chips and Banana Muffins
These muffins may sound so usual but these are very light yet moist, flavourful and generously studded with dark chocolate chips.
Never mind having these for breakfast… it’s actually more perfect as a midnight snack.
Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients:
5 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
4 Tablespoons baking powder
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 375’ F. Line 2 medium size muffin pans with cupcake paper liners.
- Sift first 6 of the dry ingredients 3 times then mix in the dark chocolate chips. Set aside.
- Beat all wet ingredients in another bowl then pour wet mixture over the dry mixture.
- Gently and quickly mix the batter. *Muffin and quickbread batters should always be lightly mixed, over-mixing this kind of batter will result to tougher and heavier muffins/quickbreads. A quick mixing and a lumpy batter is ideal since it makes muffins and quickbreads more lighter and tender.
- To get uniform size muffins, use an ice cream scooper (I used a regular large size scooper) and scoop batter onto prepared and lined muffin pans.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until muffins are lightly golden brown and when cake tester (or even a toothpick) inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool on wire rack.
Makes 24 medium size muffins
[Recipes] [Pinterest] [Twitter]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6lb7mews21qgtvlpo1_r3_1280.jpg)
Dark Chocolate Chips and Banana Muffins
These muffins may sound so usual but these are very light yet moist, flavourful and generously studded with dark chocolate chips.
Never mind having these for breakfast… it’s actually more perfect as a midnight snack.
Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients:
5 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
4 Tablespoons baking powder
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 375’ F. Line 2 medium size muffin pans with cupcake paper liners.
- Sift first 6 of the dry ingredients 3 times then mix in the dark chocolate chips. Set aside.
- Beat all wet ingredients in another bowl then pour wet mixture over the dry mixture.
- Gently and quickly mix the batter. *Muffin and quickbread batters should always be lightly mixed, over-mixing this kind of batter will result to tougher and heavier muffins/quickbreads. A quick mixing and a lumpy batter is ideal since it makes muffins and quickbreads more lighter and tender.
- To get uniform size muffins, use an ice cream scooper (I used a regular large size scooper) and scoop batter onto prepared and lined muffin pans.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until muffins are lightly golden brown and when cake tester (or even a toothpick) inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool on wire rack.
Makes 24 medium size muffins
Source: goddessofscrumptiousness
![Blueberry Cheesecake
[Recipes] [Pinterest] [Twitter]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m53pvv2Hra1qgtvlpo1_1280.jpg)
Blueberry Cheesecake
Source: goddessofscrumptiousness
![The Makings of a Perfect Brownie:
1) A perfect brownie should be crunchy on top that the surface cracks the minute you sink your teeth into it.
2) The texture should be chewy and moist and fudge-like that the act of chewing every morsel of it is equally pleasurable as that of having a foodgasm.
3) A perfect brownie should never contain any leavening agents such as bicarbonate of soda or baking powder (unless you want a cake-like brownie, then I believe one should just eat cake instead). Any brownie recipe that includes these sacrilegious additions is well, a sacrilege!
4) The proper mixing of all the brownie ingredients is also a factor. If you just mix all the ingredients together and dump everything into a baking pan, the brownie top won’t be as crunchy, unlike when you separate the egg whites from the yolks, beating the whites with sugar just until thick and frothy, much like a runny meringue before mixing with the rest of the ingredients is the secret to a crunchy top… I promise!
5) And lastly, of course a perfect brownie should taste like it is blessed by a Mayan god cacao connoisseur. It should be ooh-ing and screaming chocolate. So use the best quality chocolate bar or cocoa powder.
Crunchy Top Fudge Brownies
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup good quality cocoa powder (I use a German brand cocoa powder -Heintz, you can use a Dutch-processed cocoa powder… means it is alkalized)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs (medium), separated
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups dark chocolate chips
*2 cups whole walnuts (optional)
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350’F. Line a 9”x13” rectangle baking pan with baking parchment.
- Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over low heat. When melted, remove from heat and add cocoa powder, mix until smooth.
- Add brown sugar, salt, vanilla, egg yolks and flour. Set Aside.
- Using a hand mixer/wire whisk/stand mixer, beat egg whites until frothy. Then slowly add the granulated sugar until meringue gets into a soft peak stage.
- Fold the meringue mixture into the chocolate mixture. Then mix in the dark chocolate chips and walnuts (optional).
- Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 50 minutes to an hour or until when toothpick inserted in the center of the brownie comes out with moist crumbs (not wet brownie batter).
- Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then lift from the baking pan and cut into 24 square pieces. Cool cut brownies on wire racks.
- Store in an air tight container. Laid flat and layers separated by parchment paper.
Makes 2 dozens
Goddess of Scrumptiousness Food Photography and Original Recipes by Jeannie Maristela are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.Based on a work at goddessofscrumptiousness.tumblr.com
[Recipes] [Pinterest] [Twitter]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4qnvi4RrR1qgtvlpo1_1280.jpg)
The Makings of a Perfect Brownie:
1) A perfect brownie should be crunchy on top that the surface cracks the minute you sink your teeth into it.
2) The texture should be chewy and moist and fudge-like that the act of chewing every morsel of it is equally pleasurable as that of having a foodgasm.
3) A perfect brownie should never contain any leavening agents such as bicarbonate of soda or baking powder (unless you want a cake-like brownie, then I believe one should just eat cake instead). Any brownie recipe that includes these sacrilegious additions is well, a sacrilege!
4) The proper mixing of all the brownie ingredients is also a factor. If you just mix all the ingredients together and dump everything into a baking pan, the brownie top won’t be as crunchy, unlike when you separate the egg whites from the yolks, beating the whites with sugar just until thick and frothy, much like a runny meringue before mixing with the rest of the ingredients is the secret to a crunchy top… I promise!
5) And lastly, of course a perfect brownie should taste like it is blessed by a Mayan god cacao connoisseur. It should be ooh-ing and screaming chocolate. So use the best quality chocolate bar or cocoa powder.
Crunchy Top Fudge Brownies
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup good quality cocoa powder (I use a German brand cocoa powder -Heintz, you can use a Dutch-processed cocoa powder… means it is alkalized)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs (medium), separated
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups dark chocolate chips
*2 cups whole walnuts (optional)
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350’F. Line a 9”x13” rectangle baking pan with baking parchment.
- Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over low heat. When melted, remove from heat and add cocoa powder, mix until smooth.
- Add brown sugar, salt, vanilla, egg yolks and flour. Set Aside.
- Using a hand mixer/wire whisk/stand mixer, beat egg whites until frothy. Then slowly add the granulated sugar until meringue gets into a soft peak stage.
- Fold the meringue mixture into the chocolate mixture. Then mix in the dark chocolate chips and walnuts (optional).
- Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 50 minutes to an hour or until when toothpick inserted in the center of the brownie comes out with moist crumbs (not wet brownie batter).
- Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then lift from the baking pan and cut into 24 square pieces. Cool cut brownies on wire racks.
- Store in an air tight container. Laid flat and layers separated by parchment paper.
Makes 2 dozens
Goddess of Scrumptiousness Food Photography and Original Recipes by Jeannie Maristela are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at goddessofscrumptiousness.tumblr.com
Source: goddessofscrumptiousness
Basking in the warm summer sun and relishing the sweetness of Orange, Maple and Walnut Pudding
As I’ve mentioned a few times now, I love shooting food in natural light. Not only do I capture food in its natural beauty but it saves me a lot of time with the editing process.
These days I am shooting food either by the window or outdoors (not necessarily in direct sunlight, but somewhere nicely lit at the same time shaded).
More than the number of times I mentioned my fondness for shooting in natural light is the number of times I declared, and announced quite proudly, my absolute love of stale bread. I mean of course freshly baked bread is always the best to appease most people’s discerning carbohydrate cravings, but for me, I can do much more delicious dishes and make much more humble uses for stale bread other than smearing butter or pb & jam on slices of its fresh-out-of-the-oven counterpart.
With stale bread I make breadcrumbs (even better, I make my own seasoned breadcrumbs) to use as binders and extenders for meatloaf and meatballs, as breading for deep-fried dishes like schnitzels (scallopine) and to make crunchy toppings for baked mac and cheese, potato gratin and casseroles.
If I am not blitzing the semi-dry bread into crumbs, I occasionally end up making croutons and butter and sugar snack toasties (my mother’s fav to eat with coffee). But of all the possible and palatable things I can make with stale bread, making it into bread pudding (with dozens of varieties/flavors) is my most looked forward and much more pleasurable plan that is always already mapped out anytime my house is over-stocked with bread.
I found a page from my all-time favorite book Simple Pleasures : Soothing Suggestions & Small Comforts for Living Well All Year Round. The topic is about Comfort Foods and specifically how a most humble Bread and Butter Pudding can caress a most homesick heart.
“Bread pudding may be the all-purpose comfort food that is easiest to reproduce. It has inspired everyone from Leon Lianides of New York’s legendary Coach House restaurant to Marion Cunningham, who updated The Fanny Farmer Cookbook. (Cunningham pointed out that bread pudding was a “great pacifier” for boarding school students for generations- sometimes the only decent dish in the dining hall.)” - (Spring Chapter : Friends and Family, p.41)
Ingredients:
8 slices Egg & Milk Loaf bread (can also use brioche), sliced into triangle halves
4 large eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup half and half (1:1 milk + cream)
1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
zests of 1 orange
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup light brown sugar + 1 teaspoon cinnamon (to sprinkle over bread pudding before baking)
Procedure:
- Preheat oven to 350’F. Brush butter onto an oven/baking dish.
- Layer and overlap the bread slices in the buttered baking dish.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs, maple syrup, sugar, half and half, melted butter, vanilla, orange zests, salt and walnuts.
- Pour the egg mixture over the arranged slices of bread in the baking dish. Let the bread soak up the egg mixture, about 30 minutes.
- Mix the light brown sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle the mixture over the unbaked bread pudding. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until bread pudding is puffed-up and golden.
- Serve warm.
Makes 5-6 servings
Source: goddessofscrumptiousness
Orange, Maple and Walnut Bread Pudding (unbaked)
I am very happy about how this bread pudding shoot turned out. All the lighting and the warm glow in this photograph were courtesy of the warm summer late afternoon sunlight.
I did not do any color correction or tweaking on this photo other than adjusted the size of it.
Not only that natural light made this bread pudding gorgeous in this photo, but it caught the natural bright yellows and orange hues of all the ingredients there is in this dessert dish of mine.
Source: goddessofscrumptiousness
Nutella-Peanut Butter Banana Bread Sandwich
Contrary to how sinful this sandwich looks like, it is actually not too sweet but yes, quite decadent for a midday/midnight snack because really it’s almost the same as eating a piece of cake, only you call this a sandwich which makes you still sound like you are still sticking to your daily dietary allowance.
My original evil plan was to whip up honey roasted peanut butter (from a jar) with orange marmalade (also from a jar) and schmear an unapologetic amount of that on slices of this banana-walnut bread, but when I opened the cupboard and saw the big jar of Nutella… well of course I instantly abandoned the jar of marmalade! I mean, what can be better than Nutella?… well, maybe a tub of melted Godiva milk chocolate to dip your whole self into.
“Anything is good if it’s made of chocolate” - Jo Brand and I concur and add, A banana bread was always a wholesome baked good until peanut butter was introduced to it, followed by Nutella. And the innocence and wholesomeness of this quickbread were lost forever. But oh my goodness, Elvis would’ve been so proud of this sandwich.
Source: goddessofscrumptiousness
